williams



(No Model.)

G. L. WILLIAMS & H. BUNDLE.

FIRE ESO'APE.

No. 252,829. Patented Jan. 24,1882.

UNTTED STATES PATENT Orrtcee GEORGE L. \VILLIAMS AND HENRY BUNDLE, OF EDWARDSVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO JAMES T. COOPER, OF SAME PLACE.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 252,829, dated January 24, 1882. Application filed May 31, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE L. WILLIAMS and HENRY BUNDLE, residents of Edwards ville,1llinois,havejointly made a newand use ful Improvementin Fire-Escapes,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in which-- Figure 1 is a view in perspective, showing the improvement as arranged in use; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the traveler; Fig.3,an edge elevation of the traveler; Fig. 4, a side cle-' vation of the traveler, the side plate being turned around on its pivot, showing the interior ot'the construction, the brake or tightener being closed against the rope; Fig. 5, a sectional elevation of the traveler, the brake being set against the rope; Fig. 6, a sectional elevation of the traveler, the brake being released from the rope; Fig. 7, a view of the device used in attaching the rope to its point of support, and Fig.8 a section taken on the line a; a; of Fig. 5.

The same letters denote the same parts.

The present invention is an improvement in that class of fire-escapes which are portable, occupying but little space comparatively, when packed, and which can be readily attached to any part of a building from which an escape 0 is likely to be needed.

Considered generally, it consists mainly of a rope, which in use is fastened to the building at the point from which the descent is to be made, and a traveler which moves upon the 5 rope, and to which the person, in descending, is

connected.

The improvement relates more especially to the device used in fastening the rope to its pointof support, and to the construction of the traveler and mode of connecting it with the rope.

A hock, A, is attached to or provided with a plate, B. The latter is perforated to receive a screw, 0, which is passed through the opening in the plate, and then screwed or driven into the support for the escape,which support may be any fixture in or about the part of the building from which the descent is to be made, suitable for receiving the screw. Ordinarily the Window-jamb D is best suited for this purpose. The screw is provided with a shoulder,

c, causing the plate, when the screw is driven home, to be confined closely against the bearing-point. This prevents the strain of the escape, applied as it is immediately alongside the jamb D, from exerting a leverage upon the screw, as would occur it the plate were allowed to slip outward on the screw from thejamh, or whatever surface the screw may be held in. Thescrew is furnished with a handle, 0, to enable it to be readily inserted in the bearingD. The hook A is jointed to the plate B to more effectually prevent the plate B from being drawn outward from the-jamh.

The rope E may be attached directly to the hook A, but is preferably provided at its upper end with a hook, F, which in turn is made to engage with the hook A. The rope E is supposed to be of sufficient length to reach to the ground. 7

G represents what,for convenience, we term the traveler. It is made up substantially of three parts-a frame, H, having a pair, II, of double roller hearings or sheaves, a braking device, J, pivoted to the frame H at h, and

having a roller-bearing, K, and a bearing, L, and a brake-lever, M, pivoted to the frame H at m, and consisting of the eccentric m and lever m The sheaves I l at one side are journaled in the frame H, and at the other side in acresceut-shaped plate, 1 which in turn is held in place by means of the part 1 which connects it with the frame H. The part 1 also forms a bearing for the rope E between the sheaves I and I. The part I also serves to hold a shoe,

N, which, by means of a set-screw,'n, can, as desired, be set out against the rope E, and thus enable the brake-roller K to exert the proper pressure upon the rope as the latter be- 0 comes worn.

The traveler G is attached to the rope by winding the latter around the sheaves I I, as indicated in Figs. 1, 6. The brake J is then set against the rope, bringing the parts into 5 the position shown in Figs. 4, 5, the brake being held against the rope by means ofthe lever M, which, when closed, sets the eccentric m, so that its center is past the pointof hearing upon the back j of the brake J. A side- 10o plate, 0, pivoted to the frame at 0, serves to inclose the rope Iii laterally in place, the plate, after the rope has been wound around the sheaves I I, being swung around and fastened by means of the spring-catch o engaging in the notch 0 The frame H is provided with a shank, P,terminating in an eye,p. By gra-'ping the shank 1 and lever m the brake can be easily closed against the rope, which now bears upon the pulleys I 1, bearing 1 roller K, and bearing L. A sling, Q, by means of a hook, q, is hung in the eye 1) of the traveler. In use the person desiring to descend adjusts the sling Q under his arms and around his body, and with his hands regulates the pressure of the lever m and brake J upon the rope E. To hasten the descent, the brake is loosened, allowing the traveler and the person suspended therefrom to slide downward upon the rope more freely, and by closing the brake against the rope the descent is checked. By throwing the eccentric m past its center, as shown in Fig. 4, the brake will remain closed, however much the rope is strained. Hence after the brake has thus been set the user of the escape need no longer maintain his hold particularly upon the brake lever.

The sling Q may be furnished with hooks R It, for the purpose of attaching articles which the person descending may wish to take along:

In place of fastening the rope to the hook A and allowing the traveler to move down upon the rope, the traveler, by means of the shank P and eye 1), may be attached to the hook A and the rope fed downward through the traveler. In such case the sling is attached to the rope, and a person stationed above regulates by means of the traveler the descent of what ever may be attached to the rope. By closing thelever M, so that the center of the eccentric m is past the point of bearing upon the brake, a person can descend safely without the coop eration of an assistant above.

The plate 0 serves both to hold the rope laterallyin place upon the sheaves I I and as a tie when the lever M is forced against the brake J and sheaves I l to resist the strain crosswise upon the traveler. The bearings I I and K, or either of them, may be fixed; but it is better to make them in the form of rollers, as shown. The brake J is furnished with a lip,j, to better hold the brake in place as it is turned on its pivot h. There may be another bearing, L, on the brake for the rope.

1. The combination of the bearing D, the plate B, the screw O, having the shoulder a, the hook A,jointed to the plate B, the rope E, and the traveler G, substantially as described.

2. The traveler G, combining in its construction the frame II, the sheaves I l, the brake J, having the roller K, and the cam-lever M, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the frame II, the sheaves I I, the part I, the plate 1 the shoe N, the screw or, the brake J, bearing K, and lever M, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the frame II, sheaves I I, brake J, roller K, hearing I), and lever M, substantially as described.

5. The traveler Gr, having fixed or movable bearings at I I, the brake J, pivoted at h, and having a fixed or movable hearing at K, the cam-lever M, and the plate 0, substantially as described.

GEO. L. \VILLIAMS. II. BUNDLE. Witnesses:

(J. D. MOODY, SoLoN N. SAPP. 

